Counters



June 21, 1960 w, POLLEY 2,942,159

COUNTERS Filed June 11, 1956 INVENTOA;

United States Patent COUNTERS Kenneth W. Polley, 1515 N. 12th St.,Arlington, Va.

Filed June 11, 1956, Ser. No. 590,795

3 Claims. (Cl. 317-140) (Granted under Title 35, US. Code (1952), sec.266) The invention described in the foregoing specification and claimsmay be manufactured and used by or for the Government for governmentalpurposes without the my mom to me of any royalty thereon.

This invention is in counting apparatus and specifically is a novelbinary relay ring circuit suitable for adding and subtracting functions.

The principal object of the invention is to provide a simple relaycircuit of the nature mentioned, embodying but two relays per stage, andproducing an accurate total of pulses applied thereto, the speed ofoperation depending only upon the characteristics of the relays used.

Other objects will be apparent from the reading of the followingspecification and claims.

An air line drawing, it will be understood, is a simplified showing ofan electrical circuit wherein exist a plurality of circuit parts,especially conductors, essentially alike in structure and function, anddilfering perhaps only in the stages they connect or otherwise affect.In the interest of simplifying the showing, it is possible to terminatethe conductors at artificial boundary lines, omitting the major portionof each conductor, and indicating by letters or numerals the manners inwhich the several leads should be connected. Another expedient is toshow one of a group of leads, again utilizing reference numerals orletters to show exactly how connections should be made. 1 The severalstages may be connected to the single representative line in adistinctive manner, as by 45 lines (see A, B, and C of Figure 1), whilemaking connections of conventional type in standard fashion (see D, E,and F), although this practice is not uniform. In Figure 1, then itfollows that AA should be considered to be a separate conductor fromB-B, although a single line 50 is shown. One description of the air lineconvention may be found in Bell Telephone Standard Drafting Practices,Issue 6, April 8, 1937, and another in Electrical Drafting Applied toCircuits and Wiring, Van Zieson, see page 14 (in this case, the term airline is not employed).

In the drawings,

Figure 1 is a schematic air line diagram of a counting circuit accordingto my invention, four stages being shown.

Figure 2 displays in chart form the operation, that is, the timing, ofthe several relays of the ring.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly Figure 1, there can beseen four ring relays proper 10, 1-1, 12, and 13, and four ancillary ortransfer relays 20, 21, 22, and 23, associated respectively therewith.There also may be seen a further relay 15 with associated movablecontacts a, b and c, and an add-subtract switch 20' the function ofwhich will become more apparent hereinafter.

According to Figure l, the input for the device should take the form ofground pulses although, obviously, with minor circuit modificationswhich will be apparent to those skilled in the art, other types ofpulses can be employed. The input pulses are fed to the ring circuitover a lead 25.

It is believed to be unnecessary to describe the circuitry in detailapart from describing the operation of the apparatus. Let it be assumed,therefore, that switch 2,942,159 Patented June 21', 1960 ICE 20 isclosed, that winding 15 is energized by source 15, and that contacts15a, 15b, and 15c are thereby altered (from their conditions shown) andare pulled downagainst contacts 31, 33, and 35, respectively, of theseveral pairs of contacts 30-31, 32-33, and 34--35; the circuitthereupon is in its initial condition, prepared for adding.

The first pulse entering over lead 25 is conducted to the unoperatedcontacts 10a and 10b of relay 10, and a circuit is completed throughcontact 10a to the lower winding of relay 20 to battery -B-, and therelay is operated. Immediately upon operation of relay 20, itsassociated movable contacts 20a and 20b close against their lowermostcooperating fixed contacts.

Thereupon, ground is applied over lead 35', movable contact 20b(cooperating with its lower fixed contact), and the lower winding ofrelay 10, but this relay does not immediately operate because of theinput pulse (at ground potential) at the other end of the winding, byway of movable contact 10a (unoperated). As soon, however, as the inputpulse terminates, relay 10 operates, so that at the end of the firstinput pulse relays 10 and 20 are both in operated condition.

The second input pulse enters the circuit through operated contacts 10aand 10b of relay 10. Its first-mentioned path extends through the upperwinding of relay 10, and this serves to hold this relay operated. By anextension of that operating circuit, it also reaches the upper windingof relay 20 by way of movable contact 20a and its lower cooperatingfixed contact. It will be seen that the two windings on relay 20 aremutually opposed, and, therefore, the net effect of the second inputpulse is to hold relay 10 operated While opening relay 20.

The same pulse, occuring on contact 10b follows a circuit which includescontact 10b and its lower fixed contact, line 50, fixed contact 35 andcooperating movable contact 150, and line 51, to the input of relay 11,whence it follows a course altogether analogous to the first input pulsein the first stage of the ring. The result is, of course, that the relay21 operates responsive to the pulse, and relay 11, responsive to thetermination thereof. At the beginning of the second pulse, therefore,and throughout its duration, relays '10 and 21 are operated, and at theexpiration thereof, relays 11 and 21 only are in operated condition.

The sequence continues through 15 pulses. Upon receipt of the sixteenthpulse, all of the transfer relays 20 through 23 are released, and relays10 through 13 are in operated condition. 4

To subtract with the circuit of my invention, switch 20' is opened (asshown in the drawing), relay 15 is thus deenergized, and its movablecontacts 15a, 15b, and assume their unoperated (upper) conditions.

In subtract condition, the first input pulse serves to operate allrelays in the following fashion:

The pulse is received on swingers 10a and 10b (relay 10 being inunoperated condition). One circuit is completed as before to operaterelay 20. Another circuit, including swinger 10b, its upper fixedcontact, line 52, contacts 34, 15c and line 51 serves to energize relays21, 22, and '23 in essentially like fashion. For the duration of thepulse, therefore, relays 20 through 23 are energized. All of these lastmentioned relays, when energized, alter their associated contacts, justas in the adding operation, and, as a result, relays 10 through 13 willoperate upon the expiration of the first input pulse, while relays 20through 23 remain operated.

A second pulse will enter the circuit as before. With of relay 20.Since, as earlier explained, the two windings.

of'the last mentioned relay are in opposition, the net' effect is todeenergize relay 20.

At the expiration of the second pulse, relay 10 is deenergized.

Without specifically defining the several successive circuits (since itis believed these will be obvious), it may be said that "the third inputpulse will reactivate relay 20 but at the same time will buck down relay21 and, upon the expiration of this pulse, will deenergize relay 11.

The fourth input pulse deenergizes relay 20 and, upon expiration, relay10. The fifth pulse will reenergize relays 20 and 21 while deenergizingrelay 22, and, as the pulse expires, relays 10 and 11 will be energizedWhile 12 will be opened. Initiation of the sixth pulse aiiects onlyrelay 20, opening the same, and upon termination, reopens the circuitfor relay '10.

The sequence of operations should be clear from the foregoing and, inany case, can easily be followed from the chart of Figure 3. It isbelieved to be sufiicient here to say that the fifteenth input pulsedeenergizes relay 21 and energizes relay 20, and, at the close thereofrelay 10 is reactivated. On the arrival of the sixteenth pulse, relay 20is deenergized, leaving only relay 10 operated, and, on the expirationthereof, all relays will be found to be in normal (unoperated)condition.

The foregoing is in specific terms, and modifications will suggestthemselves. For the true scope of the invention, therefore, referenceshould be had to the appended claims.

I claim:

I. In a counting circuit, a source of current, a suceession of relayseach having two operating windings, a similar succession of other relayselectrically interconnected with saidfirst mentioned relays in pairs,each relay of said second succession also having two operating windings,the interconnecting circuitry including an input lead for pulses and anormally closed circuit including one of the operating windings of saidother relay of said first pair, said other relay upon operation closinga circuit including said source of current and a winding of the firs'trelay of said first succession thereof to apply 4 thereto a current inopposition to the input pulse whereby the last-mentioned operatingcircuit is effective upon termination of the input pulse to operate saidfirst relay of said first succession.

2. The invention of claim 1 further characterized by additional circuitmeans interconnecting said first relay of said first succession and thesecond relay thereof including a circuit closed on, operation of saidfirst relay for transferring a succeeding pulse from said input lead tosaid second relay, the circuit therefor including an operating windingnormally in open circuit condition and a closed operating circuit forthe other relay associated with said second relay, said last-mentionedother relay upon operation closing the open circuit of the energizingcircuit for said second relay, the input pulse serving also to maintainthe operated condition of said first relay of said first successionwhile restoring to unoperated condition said first other relay. i i

3. 'In a subtraction circuit, a plurality of n stages each stageincluding a base relay and another relay, 'each base relay having twosimilar operating windings and each other relay having two opposedoperating windings, an input for pulses, a source of potentialsubstantially like the potential of the input pulses, andinterconnecting circuitry including means for paralleling said stages sothat an initial pulse is directed simultaneously from said input to allsaid stages, each parallel circuit including an operating winding forone of said other relays and including a terminal of a winding of thecorresponding base relay, the other terminal of said Winding beingconnected to said source of potential, the line between said twoterminals being normally open-circuited, and means responsive to theclosing of said other relays for closing said open-circuit conditions.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS

